"...Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago and Obama’s former chief of staff, had spoken angrily and bluntly about the way Netanyahu has repeatedly betrayed the friendship of the United States, lecturing Obama in the Oval Office and now, after the U.S. had underwritten the Iron Dome anti-missile system, supported the operation in Gaza, and voted Israel’s way in the U.N., embarrassing the Obama Administration by taking punitive actions against the Palestinian Authority. After describing Emanuel’s remarks, Olmert went on to agree with them."

So ask yourself, if this man is so despicable when it comes to human lives, what is he going to do regarding the "fiscal cliff" he keeps talking about? Here is the answer, he will throw the people off the cliff, because if you will not even protect the helpless and poor as in the case of the Palestinians, there is not anything that you are incapable of doing to harm the weak and helpless anywhere (either by omission or commission).

Perhaps this article will serve as a bit of a wake up call, maybe not. It is amazing to me that there is this persistent insistence on Israel being the sole motivator for the attack and invasion of Iraq. This chanting of - "yeah, what did the US get?" It speaks volumes of not understanding the global aspect of these issues, and not being able to ascertain what role the US has played in this activity.

None of the allies which the US has joined with are having arguments like this, that is because they understand the the US has merely opened the door for the systemic global community - those who dominate, or are known as part of the dominant circle. Without the invasion there would have been no handing out of these contracts to these foreign "alliances." Mr. Harms is right when he says it is merely the people who are poorer from these invasions - it was launched on their credit card, so to speak. Those in power have never had any trouble spending the peoples money so a privileged few can profit - see history.

Perhaps we will dispense with the centrality of Israel in the middle of everything here view, and understand that there are much stronger currents - but not to dismiss Israel on the global playground. In fact Israel is like any other country clamoring for the attention of the only global superpower (so to speak). However, the US has never been a sole global superpower, but works for the interest of the entire global community to keep its place of preeminence. Think about it, before you respond.

I have one simple question - what are you going to do, even if you totally break AIPAC, and you find out that US hegemony marches on in the Middle East? What is going to be your reaction when this happens? I ask this because I don't think that the majority here really understands the nature and function of your own system. What are you going to do when the nightmare continues?

I have used this illustration before (link below)), and I think if we are talking about the Palestinians, and what has been done to them (their immediate families, relatives, friends) by the brutal and relentless occupation (think Operation Cast Lead and other brutal and murderous activity) one wonders why we should not expect the same reaction (as in the film)? Remember, the people who have committed these atrocities against the Palestinians do not walk among us like other war criminals might in the past (in secret, hiding themselves because they might be recognized, arrested and prosecuted) - but they are invited as speakers, given places of prominence, and are lauded and supported by our government officials and unfortunately supported by some of our relatives. Think about that as you watch this dramatization, how hardened have we become? -

So what causes Israel supporters to think they can put their hands on any vocal opposition? It is impunity, and the bold faced support by institutions and the US apparatus and officials. After all, the Israel project is a sanctioned and financially supported colonial activity, not much different than kingdoms of old that sent out the crusaders or sanctioned colonial activity by the gentry for their profitability. It is no different than Columbus who received his marching "exploration" orders from the crown, etc.

So, with such support Israel supporters think they can do what they please with anyone who dissents. They constantly seek ways to legitimize apartheid with "respected" educational institutions, that have been thrown to the wind of private money to raise so they can continue their charter - and they want to keep the money flowing from a government which OK's Israeli atrocity. Whitewashing War Crimes, Latuff has it right -

Oh! cold March winds your cruel laments
Are hard on prisoners’ hearts,
For you bring my mother’s pleading cries
From whom I have to part.
I hear her weeping lonely sobs
Her sorrows sweep me by,
And in the dark of prison cell
A tear has warmed my eye.

Oh! whistling winds why do you weep
When roaming free you are,
Oh! is it that your poor heart’s broke
And scattered off afar?
Or is it that you bear the cries
Of people born unfree,
Who like your way have no control
Or sovereign destiny?

Oh! lonely winds that walk the night
To haunt the sinner’s soul,
Pray pity me a wretched lad
Who never will grow old.
Pray pity those who lie in pain
The bondsman and the slave,
And whisper sweet the breath of God
Upon my humble grave.

Oh! cold March winds that pierce the dark
You cry in aged tones
For souls of folk you’ve brought to God
But still you bear the moans.
Oh! weeping wind this lonely night
My mother’s heart is sore
Oh! Lord of all breathe freedom’s breath
That she may weep no more. "
Bobby Sands - Prison Poems

When the world turns its eyes toward these atrocities, it will be dealt with in a much more severe manner than what was done to halt the oppression in Ireland.

Keith, you do not have to get into a long drawn out futile verbal battle with Mr. Blankfort and others. There are just some issues that some people do not want to believe in regard to their "precious" country, when even the slightest bit of common sense shows that the US always uses scapegoats to get its war on - there are literally miles of files in regard to the practice. I swear, some of these actors in the bowels of the empire should win an Oscar. All you have to post is one link, and leave it at that -

Lets be a little more subtle about this, when we are talking about practices of the States judicial system(s). One need not put in writing specifics regarding any ethnicity or race, and still systemically disenfranchise internal populations. Now, anyone who disagrees with this I would be more than happy to elaborate and produce any needed proof, even in the "bastion of hope" called the USA. However, this does not excuse Israel's actions by its chief judicial body, which goes to prove that the sickness is in the head and hence in the rest of the body (there is not one institution which is not skewed with this prejudice). At the same time I would be wary about excusing other States from similar practices minus the "official" pronouncement of the judicial body (or any official part). I hope that is clear, and if not, like I said earlier, I can factually elaborate - and this is by no means hasbara. There is what I would call equal culpability by the indiscriminate supporters of Israel (both official States and individuals).

All countries supreme courts are the guardians of the prevailing national myths, or the moneyed status quo - it is no different with Israel, no matter how repugnant. This is why I always laugh when someone tells me "oh, the supreme court said this, it said that - the supreme court would never allow this or that," it is all so much bullshit (including the "checks and balances" droll). Yet, like lemmings, everyone embraces the "State," like it is the infallible expression in whatever part of its defunct institutions. Carry on...

Perhaps the best treatment of what "libertarian" means in the USA was voiced (many times, not just this linked audio below) by Noam Chomsky, who I am persuaded to agree with in regard to his judgement call (factual and informed, both contemporary and historical elements).

In regard to what has grown up here in the USA, try the same choice - Chomsky, who tells us that America is not historically or presently a functional democracy. Historically Chomsky is correct, his remedy which I call the"seesaw standby" argument, that the best you are going to get is a give and take fight I strongly disagree with. This might be due to the fact that I have strong revolutionary views, and do not think that that any amount of "reform" will accomplish anything substantive (the position due to the very historical arguments that Chomsky voices), and this can be seen by the cyclical divestment of the people - over and over again ad nauseum (or should I say with increasing severity). Apparently everyone is waiting for everything to completely hit a brick wall so that their chances of accomplishing anything are almost nil, which I see as delusional -

Well, I would not necessarily call some of his position "baggage" Midwesterner (I will provide a link), but it causes concern among many - some of the things Paul is against I am also against, but there are other issues which would do nothing but take the poor and needy (which are growing exponentially as we speak) and further divest them of any support mechanisms (as an example, listen carefully to the link) -

I find it interesting that people think they can split domestic issues from foreign policy, as if the two are not hand in glove. But what else is to be expected with the propagandist corporate media function today, which is a mass of lies and selective silence? Yet you deal with the marriage of foreign and domestic every day, don't you Mr. Weiss - in the sense of the interest of the Lobby, and there are broader economic interests which are not dealt with too much here?

It is also interesting that we have this base of Paul supporters who can be described as "young" that seem to have very little understanding in regard to US historical moorings, it is like they have the same reverent and fact void faith of what the USA is supposed to be as the far right "patriotic" crowd, they have bought the proverbial Brooklyn Bridge from the academic institutions. It is amazing listening to them talk about some fantasy market that does not exist (and never did), or pine for a past which never was. I suppose Paul might serve the same function among Republicans that Dennis Kucinich does with the democrats, since he cannot win he just brings the disillusioned mass of followers into the fold of the status quo in the end.

There are two things this deception relies upon, the absolute ignorance of Arabic culture - the Israelis feel so confident about the ignorance of the general public they can call all of this cuisine they're own (through the purposeful absence of any teaching regarding the culture, and vilification of the people for other purposes). Second, theft of indigenous ways and know how has been going on for thousands of years, but is not known to many (a highly honed practice that has been buried for many years until it is presumed to be the property of the thieves, people and nation(s) ) - in the sense of settler colonial state activity as well as common practice among many empires. You can see this in what is commonly called Renaissance literature, scientific discovery of the "enlightenment" period, much is merely the theft of conquered and subjugated people or even unknown people, who are summarily pronounced "barbarians."

The Israelis fancy themselves the heirs of such a defunct tradition of manufactured greatness and renown - which is nothing but plain theft. What is so repugnant about these particular instances is that they try to copy these forms of thievery in the 21st century - where some of us can blow the whistle, and the only slur that can be thrown at us is that we are either self-hating or antisemitic.

I should probably post here what I said on another site in regard to Ron Paul - you can read the rest of the conversations:

"I wonder how many who champion the Constitution really understand the nature of the document, or the peoples initial first gut reaction to it? The Constitution is an elite document meant to preserve the "rights and function" of a moneyed elite. That is the reason why it was rejected by the people, and that is why the addendum of the Bill Of Rights was rejected out of hand by the authors of the Constitution when it was submitted by the States. For that matter representation is a farce which was a compromise which masquerades as a panacea for the ignorant people who accept its terms. So, essentially, all Ron Paul is doing is opening the floodgates to private tyrannies with his Constitutional blather."

For the most part I can tell that many people here still believe the rhetoric in regard to the "poor Obama" repetition, which means many have learned absolutely nothing. Few understand that those in power do not serve them, and that they will gladly gut you and do as they please - because you show them they can do it by the tenor of the conversations. Continuously hoping you will be represented to some degree of satisfaction in this farce, it is really getting old. What are you going to do when Obama wears the "war president" badge with honor like his predecessor? I think a quoted verse from the last post on my site amply shows the condition of slavish thought processes displayed here for the most part -

"We justify our cowardice to the forces that oppress us with a discourse of moralizing humanism. The rejection of revolutionary violence is anchored in the spirit of those who oppose the system while defending the values it teaches."

To not even understand what is thought of you by those you systemically bow too in this current nightmare just seems to be par for the course, why don't you look at the public bills that address you (not just have a cursory article) that are going to be sitting on the "poor embattled" presidents desk which he intends to sign, what a joke -

One could point out the same issues in the current act of war the USA is committing against Iran, in regard to its oil transport in the Strait of Hormuz and financial transactions from its central bank (where is our fungible boy...lol) . Of course, it has caused oil to jump 2% in price so far, and this should not be brushed off as a mitigating factor -

With the recent banning of certain art, that of children or anything coming from the Palestinians, we hear this outcry of "political," and baseless accusations about the art being done by adults, etc. One does not need to wonder why a message in art of this sort comes from the Palestinians, because it is the truth in pictorial form, what needs to cease is the continuous activity of the murderous colonial settler state of Israel - than all grasping for "political" accusations by the guilty dominant would not be necessary.

All one has to do is examine the "justice system" and read the broadening definition of terrorism. On the heals of indefinite detention is the SOPA bill, under the guise of protecting corporations from so-called Internet piracy.

it is no mistake with the record divestment of the people and trillions of dollars of bailout for the elite financial services, and the consequent rise of the Occupy movement along with the global uprisings that we see these bills rushed through the houses to the presidents desk to be signed. In other words, there is more "austerity" coming which will continue to rob the 99% for the 1% sake - they have no intention of stopping the process. So they want to scare and even imprison the dissenting indefinitely, and they want to cut off the means of communication via the Internet and turn back the clock to the corporate propaganda machine.

That s because Apartheid SA got a good deal droog, all they has to do is renounce the Apartheid in the public political arena, while the same wealth is in the same hands to this day (with no prosecutions, only "reconciliation"). Perhaps some day Israel will get a similar deal, lets hope the Palestinians do not languish in economic Apartheid like the South Africans - I dread this happening eventually in the region, the same almost fruitless compromise. Hopefully the champions of the Palestinians will not repeat history while the Israelis laugh all the way to the bank.

What has "essentially" (to a vital degree, elementally) changed, in Israel or its ardent supporter the USA? The pace is glacial and the problem is acute, it is never going to be addressed until the economic foundation beneath this settler colonial state is destroyed - but it will never cease until people are willing to address the entire issue.

For quite some time now the community has been trying to banish Mr. Finkelstein from the equation, some like Mr. Remnick try to do it by minimization. Others who cannot stand the mounted barrage of facts Mr. Finkelstein marshals try to dismiss him with vilification, lies and innuendo, saying they don't like his "spirit" or his manner of delivery is too harsh, etc. - very familiar to the current group of "intellectuals" bag of tricks.

I keep wondering why Mr. Finkelstein even bothers to dignify those he opposes by treating them to a logical appeal, because we know they are not capable of handing adult arguments. He knows full well that there is nothing redeemable within the systemic arena, yet he keeps appealing to it as a voice of dissent, as if it has any real legitimacy. This is what I would call for lack of a better term almost futile (I apologize to those who think some headway has been made on this subject, I disagree), and he should join those of us which wish to dismantle this entire fiasco. Once you have seen that the emperor has no clothes, it is impossible to go back and appeal thinking an essential difference will be made. I say this with the highest respect to Mr. Finklestein, who is one of the few that is addressing these issues with great distinction, and knows that what I am saying is the bottom line truth.

If you look carefully at that "contract" you will see everything that has brought us to the present day economic disaster. It was the tip of the spear during the Regan era that opened the doors to totally unregulated pillage of the American people by what is now called the 1%. It had all the seeds of the current destruction, the contract), so if he would sell America out then it is just a matter of where he tips his hat at any given time. Frankly, the whole system is a joke, but I elaborate like this because some still think there is juice left for them.

They took the two women because they wanted to "liberate" them, don't you know that this is what Israel does for Palestinian women (sarcasm)? They liberate them with false trials and imprisonment.

One thing you always go away with here Seham, generally speaking, is a view of what is systemically taking place - look at all of the active oppression in all of these areas. Imperialism and its minions at work everywhere, that is why we will need all of the people to undo these tragedies. Thank you for that confirmation again with your hard work.

The persistence of these processes in schools shows that my initial thoughts about these activities, while writing about Norman Finkelstein a few years back were correct (did you notice it does not matter which administration is in power?). It is an assault on academic freedom and a crushing of dissent within an almost fascistic community. When is this going to stop? The answer is that it will never stop as long as it is allowed to continue and to be successful. Why is it so successful? Because we have allowed our institutions to merely be administrative havens where money talks and truth walks (this has been going on a long long time). Petitions are good and to be encouraged, they are just not enough - the entire paradigm has to shift for substantive change.

Apparently eee you have some mild or moderate cognitive dissonance, no one is arguing the makeup of the American people or the representative body (which most Americans have no idea where their elected officials stand on most issues, because they voted for them on the "do you think he would be a good drinking buddy" basis). Humanity has nothing to do with Zionism in the grouping value (maybe you failed the test on set theory in your exams), neither does the American public have much true information in regard to what is transpiring between Israel and the Palestinians - and I do believe the old rule stands that informed decisions are the only ones worth having (if Americans were all told that they should be able to fly from birth many would not reach old age...). When you have these things straightened out or have sought out therapeutic help let me know.

eee the crux of the matter is Zionism, it is not whether one is a Jew or not - there has never been a decision taken by neocons that has been detrimental to Israel - in fact for the short run it has always been beneficial , one may be a conservative or a communist and these have a universal application, not so with Zionism. However being a Jew does not predispose one to instant Zionism at any cost, so one may be a Zionist and not a Jew or one may be a Jew and a Zionist. Look at the track record of neocons, find their writings and their works, and you will find all neocons are Zionist whether they are a Jews or not. The culprit is Zionism not being Jewish, nice try attempting to pinpoint Jews and not Zionism so that the antisemitism charge can stick eee - no dice though.

Of course this is nothing new for Ms. Streisand, she did it back in 78' in The Stars Salute Israel for its 30th. After all, if you have been media lionized (not that she does not have talent, just lots of opportunities, if you know what I mean), what else are you going to do when you are called upon to do so? There is nothing like the "star wash" for Israel -

The fairy tale narrative is old, so is the Christian one, and the Muslim (because the theos based seems to be unusually long lasting and repugnant) - and all of the other imagined deities they are based on (if you want to talk history of mythology). That any would persist and be the basis of daily atrocities is unacceptable in the 21st century, of course there is more to their longevity than belief - particular gain through theft (the fastest way to gain ascendance) and the elite use of these fairy tales among the ignorant population.

Added to the above title should be FALLACIOUS HISTORY. It is a cursory treatment, but worth the read. I find it ludicrous that someone would persist in these fairy tales that even our scholars have exposed. Before you try to take on what I say max, I suggest you think twice, you do not even know who you are conversing with - but the ignorant barge through where the studied fear to tread.

You cannot immerse yourself in the particulars of these issues while ignoring the root cause of the current debacle. You can talk all day long about each specific atrocity and wax eloquent about the racist proclivity of the Israelis or Israeli settlers, but the fact of the matter is that these people think they are ushering in an Eretz Yisrael based on ancient fairy tales regarding the region. The racism is taught in the text, the theft is seen as redemption, and they glory in the perceived fact that they fulfill the will of some deity no matter how morally repugnant to the common course of humanity. It is time to face up to the fact that we are facing horrible activity proceeding from a flawed foundation, a sort of turning the clock back where the land in central because of the supposed promise of some deity - and the longer you ignore and deny it the worse it will become, until genocide proper is reveled in by the perpetrators. You cannot reform the activity or adjust it, because it is inherently rotten.

I too have great respect for the Egyptian people, however asking one leader after another to step down is not going to change much. In short, the whole system must be uprooted and the current government must be disbanded. In other words, revolution in the true sense of the word. Anyone who thinks this is a non-violent activity, what is taking place in Egypt today is not aware of the facts, since the Maspero massacre there have been uncountable counter-revolutionary assaults on the Egyptian people - and they must be answered for. Look carefully at a post by Max Ajl, another letter from the front -

They should advertise it like this - "Did you miss all of the atrocities of early Manifest Destiny? Now, you too can see the wonders of ethnic cleansing - come with us on night raids on the indigenous, watch us off children at play, and marvel at the bargain basement prices of stolen land. Be amazed at the prison complex we have built for the savages. We are in the process of making the desert bloom. G-d would be proud, see modern prophecies come to life!"

The fact of the matter is that Israel does not have the right to exist acting out its current course with impunity. It cannot continue to do what it likes to Palestinians or their property, it cannot act as a violent belligerent in the neighborhood (Lebanon, Syria, etc.), and say that it "has a right to exist" on this current course. That is the bottom line, no matter what the religious proclivities happen to be - or how much you try to shove the ME into immigration to the so-called "promised land" like some modern day manifest destiny for the chosen ones, which is nothing but a murderous settler state colonial apparatus with all the attended racism and vainly justified atrocities - there no right to exist in this form and there never will be (there or elsewhere).

In regard to WIPO, I am sure many are aware of how Israel tries to "preserve" Palestinian intellectual property (sarcasm; was posted here before), they might have to give the stolen property back and it might become available to the world at large -

The Israelis are afraid that WIPO will undo their hatchet job which they feel has put the perceptions regarding the Palestinians as being from the caveman era, and may reveal there is a body of literature which shows an advanced civilization. This might also undo the "war on terror" which paints all from the region as savages.

They used the excuse of going "digital" as the first wave of assault to shut broadcasts down, now they are doing it directly. Pirate radio and mobile TV jam broadcasts should be used in all of these arenas.

Just to accentuate that last sign, which has on it F*** Police, you might ask yourself the question - why would I have that sentiment? It is basically the brain washing job we get about who the police are, who they "protect and serve," and where do they come from - origins? It might be quite a shock to some individuals but that is not the identity and true mission of the police, and that can clearly be seen by what they do.

You are fed a line on popular media, I don't think any group gets more of a face lift (a BS job) than the police department, there are shows on almost every hour of the day to make them look kind and squeaky clean. You are constantly bombarded by "crime," single act crime - oh, how much crime there is (and nothing about the structural condition that causes 99% of the activity) , while getting virtually nothing about killing machines that murder people by the millions abroad, and structural violence perpetrated by the system which destroys law abiding citizens with a sense of fairness and justice. All and all someone has to lift the curtain on this deception. When you understand these issues, this is the first step that strengthens peoples resistance and brings them to direct action to fight against this system. You better think about this, because sooner or later (probably sooner) you are going to see this clash, and you better ask yourselves "who's side am I on?" with the proper knowledge -

Just in case it was missed, Max Ajl has a full letter on his site which not only reflects a sentiment but reality in a solidarity statement with OWS from Cairo. It is probably good to see it in full here, because it reflects what really happened and needed to be done when police atrocities began too occur, read it carefully (especially about capitalism and what "direct" actions the people had to take to defend their ground) and ask who's view is reflected here -

"To all those in the United States currently occupying parks, squares and other spaces, your comrades in Cairo are watching you in sol­i­dar­ity. Having received so much advice from you about tran­si­tion­ing to democracy, we thought it’s our turn to pass on some advice.

Indeed, we are now in many ways involved in the same struggle. What most pundits call “The Arab Spring” has its roots in the demon­stra­tions, riots, strikes and occu­pa­tions taking place all around the world, its foun­da­tions lie in years long struggles by people and popular movements. The moment that we find ourselves in is nothing new, as we in Egypt and others have been fighting against systems of repres­sion, dis­en­fran­chise­ment and the unchecked ravages of global cap­i­tal­ism (yes, we said it, cap­i­tal­ism): a System that has made a world that is dangerous and cruel to its inhab­i­tants. As the interests of gov­ern­ment increas­ingly cater to the interests and comforts of private, transna­tional capital, our cities and homes have become pro­gres­sively more abstract and violent places, subject to the casual ravages of the next economic devel­op­ment or urban renewal scheme.

An entire gen­er­a­tion across the globe has grown up realizing, ratio­nally and emo­tion­ally, that we have no future in the current order of things. Living under struc­tural adjust­ment policies and the supposed expertise of inter­na­tional orga­ni­za­tions like the World Bank and IMF, we watched as our resources, indus­tries and public services were sold off and dis­man­tled as the “free market” pushed an addiction to foreign goods, to foreign food even. The profits and benefits of those freed markets went elsewhere, while Egypt and other countries in the South found their immis­er­a­tion rein­forced by a massive increase in police repres­sion and torture.

The current crisis in America and Western Europe has begun to bring this reality home to you as well: that as things stand we will all work ourselves raw, our backs broken by personal debt and public austerity. Not content with carving out the remnants of the public sphere and the welfare state, cap­i­tal­ism and the austerity state now even attack the private realm and people’s right to decent dwelling as thousands of foreclosed-upon home­own­ers find them­selves both homeless and indebted to the banks who have forced them on to the streets.

So we stand with you not just in your attempts to bring down the old but to exper­i­ment with the new. We are not protest­ing. Who is there to protest to? What could we ask them for that they could grant? We are occupying. We are reclaim­ing those same spaces of public practice that have been com­mod­i­fied, pri­va­tized and locked into the hands of faceless bureau­cracy , real estate port­fo­lios, and police ‘pro­tec­tion’. Hold on to these spaces, nurture them, and let the bound­aries of your occu­pa­tions grow. After all, who built these parks, these plazas, these buildings? Whose labor made them real and livable? Why should it seem so natural that they should be withheld from us, policed and dis­ci­plined? Reclaim­ing these spaces and managing them justly and col­lec­tively is proof enough of our legitimacy.

In our own occu­pa­tions of Tahrir, we encoun­tered people entering the Square every day in tears because it was the first time they had walked through those streets and spaces without being harassed by police; it is not just the ideas that are important, these spaces are fun­da­men­tal to the pos­si­bil­ity of a new world. These are public spaces. Spaces for gathering, leisure, meeting, and inter­act­ing – these spaces should be the reason we live in cities. Where the state and the interests of owners have made them inac­ces­si­ble, exclusive or dangerous, it is up to us to make sure that they are safe, inclusive and just. We have and must continue to open them to anyone that wants to build a better world, par­tic­u­larly for the mar­gin­al­ized, excluded and for those groups who have suffered the worst.

What you do in these spaces is neither as grandiose and abstract nor as quotidian as “real democracy”; the nascent forms of praxis and social engage­ment being made in the occu­pa­tions avoid the empty ideals and stale par­lia­men­tar­i­an­ism that the term democracy has come to represent. And so the occu­pa­tions must continue, because there is no one left to ask for reform. They must continue because we are creating what we can no longer wait for.

But the ide­olo­gies of property and propriety will manifest them­selves again. Whether through the overt oppo­si­tion of property owners or munic­i­pal­i­ties to your encamp­ments or the more subtle attempts to control space through traffic reg­u­la­tions, anti-camping laws or health and safety rules. There is a direct conflict between what we seek to make of our cities and our spaces and what the law and the systems of policing standing behind it would have us do.

We faced such direct and indirect violence , and continue to face it . Those who said that the Egyptian rev­o­lu­tion was peaceful did not see the horrors that police visited upon us, nor did they see the resis­tance and even force that rev­o­lu­tion­ar­ies used against the police to defend their tentative occu­pa­tions and spaces: by the government’s own admission; 99 police stations were put to the torch, thousands of police cars were destroyed, and all of the ruling party’s offices around Egypt were burned down. Bar­ri­cades were erected, officers were beaten back and pelted with rocks even as they fired tear gas and live ammu­ni­tion on us. But at the end of the day on the 28th of January they retreated, and we had won our cities.

It is not our desire to par­tic­i­pate in violence, but it is even less our desire to lose.

If we do not resist, actively, when they come to take what we have won back, then we will surely lose. Do not confuse the tactics that we used when we shouted “peaceful” with fetishiz­ing non­vi­o­lence; if the state had given up imme­di­ately we would have been overjoyed, but as they sought to abuse us, beat us, kill us, we knew that there was no other option than to fight back. Had we laid down and allowed ourselves to be arrested, tortured, and martyred to “make a point”, we would be no less bloodied, beaten and dead. Be prepared to defend these things you have occupied, that you are building, because, after every­thing else has been taken from us, these reclaimed spaces are so very precious.

By way of con­clud­ing then, our only real advice to you is to continue, keep going and do not stop. Occupy more, find each other, build larger and larger networks and keep dis­cov­er­ing new ways to exper­i­ment with social life, consensus, and democracy. Discover new ways to use these spaces, discover new ways to hold on to them and never give them up again. Resist fiercely when you are under attack, but otherwise take pleasure in what you are doing, let it be easy, fun even. We are all watching one another now, and from Cairo we want to say that we are in sol­i­dar­ity with you, and we love you all for what you are doing.

Gee, I wonder how anything was accomplished with all of those "agent provocateurs" in the streets of Egypt (satire)? Just chiding those who kept waving this well worn out flag (about such agents) in front of me every time I post. Take a look at reality

Soon Syria will enter those ranks of "liberated" countries, you know, the type that will lose all of their benefits - health, education, etc. in order to be "free," like Libya (will soon have). Than they will hunt the educators, doctors, journalists, that had anything to do with the previous regime like target practice. What? You did not know that this is what is transpiring, and what Syria is being prepared for?

"The war against Syria, planned by the United States, France and the United Kingdom for mid-November 2011, has been blocked in extremis by the Russian and Chinese vetoes at the Security Council. According to Nicolas Sarkozy, who informed the Maronite Patriarch of the matter during a stormy meeting at the Elysée Palace on 5 September 2011, the plan contemplates the expulsion of Middle East Christians by the Western powers. In this context a press campaign is underway in Europe to accuse the Christians of the Orient of collusion with the dictatorships. Mother Agnès-Mariam of the Cross, mother superior of the monastery of James the Mutilated in Qara (Syria) responds to this war propaganda."

"However, if conservatives are looking for a Democratic strawmen to use to demonize Occupy Wall Street, it would be hard to pick a worse man for the role than Steve Israel."

They want to push it beyond what is credible, make it incredible - perhaps they want him to set himself on fire wrapped in an Israeli flag.

I have news, when the "wall" on Wall Street fails (named after the wall to keep "those indigenous" out, now representative of all on the outside who are disenfranchised being walled out) and falls, it is going to fall squarely on the apartheid wall in Israel (or should I say built on stolen land?). In fact, I may commission Latuff to draw a collapsing Wall Street wall falling squarely on the Israeli apartheid wall, because both need to fall down. Now commence the self-hating accusations, I will gladly wear a badge of universal embrace rather than tribal atrocities.

I think it is difficult, having read most of what Dr. Said has written and done to lionize him - perhaps it seems like lionization, because it is so hard to grasp how a man of this matchless character and talent could do so much in such a short time. I cannot think of someone more deserving of such accolades, and still see them fall short.

Out of all the things Dr. Said has said and done I can only think of two things I disagree with - his evaluation of The aging Jean Paul Sartre, and trying to work within a framework of these institutions in the USA and thinking that anything substantive could happen in this systemic sludge. Outside of that there is nothing, and that is amazing because he crossed so many disciplines and addressed so strongly and eloquently the Palestinian plight. So lionizing him would be quite a feat indeed, look how he takes the erring themes of this insidious empire at the root and reprimands these reprobates -

Apparently Shmuel many do not realize the direction they are heading in, these fellows (global wrecking crew, capitalist cadre, whatever you wish to call them) are playing for keeps - they are not going to stop till we re-enter the ranks of feudalism, I don't think people who think they "have something" realize this fact. We are not talking about a reform issue here, not some slight adjustment, but revolution (or at least i am).

The infacy of the movement is going to be taken over by the reality that there is no intention of substantive change coming around the corner. You might think I am not being realistic and only time will tell, we will wait for the next crash that will make the last one look like a party, then let's see what happens. You are always going to face the prospect of provocateurs, soon it will not matter who is one or not. Why don't you take a tour of my site, look specifically at the dates when the posts were written and compare what I wrote with what eventually happened, or follow the archives here - see how many times I have been wrong in my judgement calls (I am not saying I am infallible, just that I know the nature of the beast).

Historically there has never been a successful movement that did not have a mix of methodologies, and those being more controversial (at least in today's pathetic atmosphere). How one avoids being infiltrated by provocateurs is by holding close the mix so that you know who is genuine and who is not, not by isolating and ostracizing them - many times the force of the direct action has caused the oppressors to turn to the more so-called "reasonable element" out of fear, it is the job of those called upon not to become the tools of the oppressor and just continue the same exploitative process.

Without the mix, in this instance the so-called black bloc, what do you expect to accomplish? Change by chant, movement by marching, fire by candlelight? The forces you are up against cannot be reasoned or shamed into change, the only language they understand is force - you can tel by how often the asses in power apply it. Just some food for thought, if anyone wishes to do any profitable thinking and get some substantive results.

Alas it never was, it is the latest (rule of law) lie that the elite hide behind, no different than the divine right of kings. Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of law for you and I - specifically to oppress and keep the 99% "in line," just none for the few - which the entire corpus was supposed to be about in the first place. However, there is a law that is higher than that written by elites - the will of the people.

You may not like my assessment of the situation, but I am probably posting what is on the minds of a few who can identify this process of Israeli settler state colonialism. I do not think Israel fears a one state solution, because there will essentially be no one state solution or two state solution for that matter.

This brings us to one of two solutions, or perhaps both together. 1). They intend to have a one state solution in the same manner as the South Africans, that is, a minor political sop for the Palestinians with no real economic or viable citizenship (which, whether you like it or not, is what is transpiring today in So Africa); 2) They intend to cleanse all of the Palestinians from the land, genocide them, and claim their Israel fantasy from ye ol' bible (ostensible the most genocidal book known to man); 3). A hybrid of the two previous, claiming to have tried the one state solution they will get rid (however) of the Palestinians.

You have the old ruse here of making everything having to do with Israel Jewish, hence opposition to a murderous colonial settler state becomes antisemitism. Worse yet is the specter of the wind being knocked out of capitalism's sails which is a primary supporter of all the colonial activity currently taking place in the world, including Israeli colonialism.

In the meantime what is happening is a process of real time education, and the ranks are swiftly learning what the policing forces stand for in America, elite interest - it is nothing new, just new to the some of the Occupy Wall Street crew which is now over 200 plus locations strong and growing. So awareness is growing exponentially of where the foundational juice is coming from for the global atrocities. Those on the wrong side of history have every reason to be scared, because the primary gravy train is going to be derailed -

This is a good article, too bad there will probably not be many posters because they think another boogeyman is the be all and end all of all our problems. If there is no overarching context for what is transpiring globally, even in the ME, than you have no handle by which to substantively address anything - you become one small group among a hundred others. Better to put everything in its proper place and join hands with more people, pulling up one helps the other.

I think you are barking up the wrong tree Keith, they just want to make believe that everything has to do with Zionism here while they play the Star Spangled Banner. Not everyone here, but when you are physically comfortable and snug in your delusions nothing wakes you up until it is all gone.

This is an example of why I am so specific on what counts as a revolution, and wrote a three part definition on the basis of such. Involved in the three part series I elaborated on the standing army, specifically with Egypt in mind, it is brief and not exhaustive but to the point -

"The military, whether it is propped up by foreign capital or not, whether our loved ones are in its ranks or not, is never designed to listen to nor obey the voice of the people. All military should subordinate itself to the will of the people, and if they refuse they are nothing but the servants of the system which the people wish to do away with. Whether the force of the military is applied either domestically or in foreign war it is not by the will of the people, and it does nothing to protect you but is designed for the will and enrichment of the few. If you say to me that any institution of force, military or police, will not allow the people to do what they want to do - then I say they are controlled by other than the will of the people. If you tell me that the people would like to do thus and so collectively but cannot because of contrary force, than that force is not standing by the will of the people.

The army should be told to stand down to the will of the people, the generals should be dismissed who are propping up anything but the will of the people. They should be told in no uncertain terms that they will join the ranks of the people, and this because they have been isolated and cloistered, educated to follow orders, and they need to determine who's orders they are going to obey. The rank and file should be encouraged to break the ranks and not be involved in the suppression of the people, or they will face the people in full force on what has been turned into a field of battle.

There is no revolutionary thrust which historically never faced the prospect clash with the system of the status quo supporting the few, as opposed to that which is the will of the people. Anyone who told you or implied that this can solely be a peaceful process is either deceived, or they have been infiltrated by the design of the few - because they told you that you can chant and march your way peacefully to liberation, but if this is all you do it will never be substantive change because you will leave the heart of the system intact. This suspicion, which I posted in my last post is correct, it is prescient - "

"Because part of being Jewish means not forsaking or wanting to harm one of the largest, if not the largest, Jewish communities in the world."

There used to be a time when being Jewish meant doing Jewish, and doing Jewish never meant committing the atrocities that are common practice in Israel. The greatest harm to Judaism in the world is perpetrated by those who say they are protecting the community by supporting without proper judgement in regard to what is right and what is wrong. When the atrocities do not cease to further protect it by proclaiming Jewish community is even worse (it is antisemitic), it becomes like aiding and abetting thieving homicidal criminals - whether it sports a flag and a state charter or not, I'm sure we can name a number of different criminal acts which other "states" were and are involved in.

eee, you have forsaken the Jewish community by indiscriminate cover up for daily atrocities, never mind forsaking the community because you indiscriminately support whatever it does (by omission and commission) that is just the beginning. It not only speaks of your despising the community, but the rest of mankind - unless you think Israeli activity towards its neighbors and indigenous is something to be emulated in the world at large (I do not need a lecture about others having done the same thing, I think my record for exposing what others have done is clear - unfortunately it is not as clear with others).

Of course, you must realize that Abbas is the "fat lady," and when you talk about him doing anything substantial for the Palestinian people you should have your tongue in your cheek. The "plan" always gets spoiled in either the source (Abbas, who is the "president" when a clown could do a better job, not to mention that he is the hit man for the powers that be, that is why he is the declared president) or the substance (the plan always undoes the people, every time) - when Israel or the US sees Abbas ringing his bell they know it always tolls for the Palestinian people. I thought everyone was clear on these points, but there must be some sort of cognitive dissonance in the air or something in the drinking water (lets not mention the point about the uselessness of the UN or what it exists for, I have posted enough about that already).

Everyone who expected some settlement via the UN, or some sort of "statehood" package, is being laughed at right now. It is time to wipe the smile off their faces, and it will not be done through UN auspices.

No state, or government, has the right to execute an individual - they are too corrupt to function in that capacity. Many talk about political prisoners, and a few names get bandied around, but essentially there are millions of political prisoners where the poor and people of color are smashed by the gavel so the present order of this system can continue. People allow their children to be sacrificed on the alter of this states delusions both structurally and literally -

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